2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Final Round

CHICAGO (July 31, 2015) – On the first day that tickets went on sale to the public for the U.S. Women’s National Team’s September matches in Detroit and Birmingham, Ala., more than 20,000 tickets have been sold for each venue.

The USA will face Women’s World Cup quarterfinalist Australia on Thursday, Sept. 17, at Ford Field in Detroit (7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1) followed by a match on Sunday, Sept. 20, at historic Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama (1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2).

The games are part of a 10-match Victory Tour to celebrate the USA’s third World Cup title.

Tickets for the September games are available at ussoccer.com. For the Detroit contest, tickets are also available by phone at 1-877-212-8898 and at the Ford Field ticket office (Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). For the event in Birmingham, tickets are also available by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers (including Publix and Walmart locations). [Note: Tickets are not sold at Legion Field except on the day of the event.]

Groups of 20 or more can obtain an order form at ussoccer.com or call 312-528-1290. Ultimate Fan Tickets (special VIP packages that include a premium ticket, a custom-made official U.S. National Team jersey with name and number, VIP access to the field before and after the game, and other unique benefits) are also available exclusively through ussoccer.com.

The USA’s tour begins on Aug. 16 against Costa Rica at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. More than 38,500 tickets have been sold for that match. [TICKETS] The USA will then play Costa Rica at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Aug. 19. That match is sold out with over 20,000 fans expected to attend.

The dates, venues and opponents for the USA’s final six matches of the Victory Tour will be announced when they are confirmed.

2015 U.S. WNT VICTORY TOUR SCHEDULE (six more matches to be confirmed):

In 1998, D.C. United made history as they became the first American club to be crowned champions of CONCACAF after beating Mexican side Toluca in that year’s Champions Cup Final.

Nearly 20 years later, a younger crop of players will represent the Black and Red as the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s representatives to the inaugural U-13 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League beginning Tuesday, Aug. 4 at the Mexico City-based Academy facilities of Liga MX club Cruz Azul.

“It’s a great honor for our club to be selected and represent U.S. Soccer in this tournament,” said D.C. United U-13 Academy head coach John Bello. “Our players were all very excited when they got the news that they were going to go down. They’re really proud of it and want to put their best foot forward in this tournament.”

When CONCACAF approached U.S. Soccer about who should represent the Development Academy at the tournament, they went in search of a club whose first team had some history in the regional championship. Along with winning the 1998 title, United’s 10 appearances in either the CONCACAF Champions Cup or Champions League, is an MLS record.

Beyond first team history, CONCACAF also looked for a club that had developed a good track record of developing players and the D.C. United Academy was a perfect fit according to U.S. Soccer’s Director of Scouting Tony Lepore.

“United has a strong history of player production,” he told ussoccer.com. “The D.C. area is a hotbed for developing talent for youth and senior national teams.”

The numbers back it up. Since 2007, the club has placed 38 players on U.S. Soccer Youth National Teams from the U-14 to U-23 age groups and has helped develop many notable professional players, including Bill Hamid, Andy Najar, Romain Gall, Jalen Robinson, Michael Seaton and Conor Shanosky. Still just 24 years old, Hamid has also played twice for the U.S. Men’s National Team.

Clint Peay, the Development Academy’s Technical Advisor for the Mid Atlantic region and a former D.C. United player, was familiar with the club’s player pool and with a tight timetable, pushed quickly to get the side involved in the tournament.

“Clint had worked together with the D.C. United Academy on a number of initiatives and felt good about what they had,” continued Lepore. “We immediately contacted Academy Director Nolan Sheldon and with the support of the club, Nolan immediately jumped at it because they value international competition and knew what an experience like this could mean for their young players as they continue with an eye towards developing more professionals.”

The tournament schedule is tight, with clubs playing three group matches in three days from Tuesday to Thursday. D.C. United will face fellow MLS Academy, the Montreal Impact, Jamaican club Harbor View FC and a club TBA from Liga MX. Should they finish in the top two in their group, they’ll play a semifinal on Friday with the final and third place matches coming on Saturday.

Bello admits that the trip to Mexico City will be the first time many of his U-13 side will play outside of the country. Now in his third year with the United Academy, he hopes the experience will keep his players focused on continuing to improve as they prepare for the fall Development Academy season.

“For them it’ll be a real eye-opener,” Bello said. “I remember back to when I was growing up playing and went on an international trip, it was really eye-opening to see where the level was in other countries. Sometimes because these guys play for an MLS Academy, they’ll think they’ve already achieved everything, when the reality is they need to keep working really hard on their development in order to compete at an international standard, which is what their overall objective is.”

“Seeing where they stack up internationally should give them a good gauge of where they stand and what they need to build on.”

CHICAGO (July 31, 2015) – The U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team will travel to Mexico City from Aug. 8-16 for a training camp that features two matches against the Mexico Under-20 Women’s National Team.

The games will take place on August 13 and 15 at Mexico’s National Training Center in Mexico City. U.S. Soccer Women’s Youth Technical Director April Heinrichs will run the camp that features 20 players, all born 1998.

All the players in this age group are eligible for the team that will attempt to qualify for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, but the goal for this age group is ultimately the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

CHICAGO (June 29, 2015) – The Under-16 Girls’ National Team will hold a training camp from Aug. 1-9 at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, that will feature 24 players.

This will be the third camp of the year for the U-16 GNT, which features 21 players born in 2000 and three born in 2001.

The U-16 camp will be run by Women’s Development Coach Tricia Taliaferro, who is U.S. Soccer’s main scout for the ’00 birth year. All of the players in this camp are age-eligible for the next FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2016, but the main birth year for that tournament is 1999.

This age group is in a two-year cycle that will graduate the players to the U-18 and then the U-20 WNT with the goal of playing in the 2020 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

CHICAGO (July 29, 2015) – U.S. Paralympic National Team head coach Stuart Sharp has named 14 players to represent the United States at the 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto, Canada.

Preliminary matches begin Sunday, Aug. 9, for the USA when it faces Canada. It will then face Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil on the following consecutive days. Elimination games will take place on Friday, Aug. 14, before the placement games and closing ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 15.

“The players and staff are looking forward to getting on the plane to Toronto to join up with the rest of Team USA at the Parapan American Games next month,” said Sharp. “It has been a busy and successful year for the USPNT program and all the U.S. Soccer National Teams in general, therefore we are keen to continue this momentum.

“We will be taking a squad with only two changes to the group that recently made the quarterfinals of the World Championships, therefore we will have a nice blend of youth and experience in Canada.”

Daniel Hoffman and Jackson McCabe join the team as the only two members who did not participate with the U.S. at the 2015 C.P. World Championships in England. The U.S. finished in 7th place at the World Championships to qualify for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“In 2015 so far, with squad qualifying for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, we have managed to achieve a number of our objectives but this season is not yet over,” said Sharp. “I am sure there will be teams in Toronto going out prove themselves against us, however we are firmly focused on finishing the competition in a podium place and representing the USA to our best.”

CHICAGO (July 28, 2015) – U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team head coach Javier Perez has named a 20-man roster that will head to Sweden for the 2015 Open Nordic Cup Tournament from July 30-Aug. 10.

The U-18 MNT will begin play on Tuesday, Aug. 4, when its faces Faroe Islands in Mallbaken. It will then travel to Karlstad to continue its run one day later against Iceland on Wednesday, Aug. 5, and will look to wrap up group play on Friday, Aug. 7 against Sweden. The opponent for a final placement game to be played on Sunday, Aug. 9, will be determined following the conclusion of the three group matches.

The trip will kick off a new cycle for this crop of players at the U-18 age group. All 20 players on the roster were born in 1999, making this their first camp as the new U-18 MNT. The players on the roster had been previously competing with the U-15 and U-16 National Teams.

The roster includes players from 11 states. California has the most representatives with five on the squad. Eighteen of the 19 players have ties to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.

CHICAGO (July 28, 2015) – U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team head coach Andi Herzog has called 28 players to Carson, California, for a College Identification training camp that will allow the coaching staff to scout a new crop of collegiate players as the team continues preparations ahead of October qualifying for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The group will train from August 5-8 at the U.S. National Training Center in Carson.

"It will be great to work with this group and have a look at them,” head coach Andi Herzog said. “We have brought college players in and have seen them go on to have success with the senior team. Jordan Morris was an example of that this year. This camp is another chance to build our pool of talented players.”

Eleven of the 28 players have experience playing in the U.S. Men’s National Team youth system.

Photos from the U.S. Soccer press conference with the St. Louis Cardinals to announce the return of the Men's National Team to St. Louis for its opening World Cup Qualifying match of the 2018 cycle. The match will be played at Busch Stadium on Nov. 13 against the winner of the St. Vincent & the Grenadines-Aruba Third Round qualifying match.

CHICAGO (July 27, 2015) — The U.S. Soccer Coaching Department will conduct National Coaching Schools for “A” and “B” License Courses from October 17-25 in Casa Grande, Arizona. Registration for these course options will begin on Monday, August 3. Interested applicants should review the FAQ’s (listed below) and confirm their eligibility prior to registering.

Participants at U.S. Soccer’s National Coaching Schools will have the opportunity to earn a nationally recognized license from U.S. Soccer, a member of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), and the governing body of soccer in all its forms in the United States.

In a typical course, coaches interact with the nation’s top-level instructors, including current and former U.S. National Team, professional and international coaches. The licensing programs are focused on teaching current theoretical and practical knowledge to provide coaches with the ability to improve the everyday training environment for elite players.